By any stretch of the imagination, 2010/11 was a highly successful period for Lancaster University Students’ Union (LUSU): over 100,000 students attended the union’s nightclub, Sugarhouse; over 30 per cent of the entire membership voted for the new full time officer team; and LUSU’s letting agency rented nearly 950 bed spaces in the city of Lancaster. However, it hasn’t always been like this in a history that spans over five decades.

When Lancaster University opened its doors in 1964, two colleges formed the basis of the new collegiate establishment, and Bowland and Lonsdale college students immediately decided to co-operate together in a representative council.

However, progression into an established students’ union was met with hostility from university management who expressed concerns on how a students’ union could work within a collegiate set-up.

Struggling to receive support

As the first student sit-ins took place in London, and a national student rally saw over 100,000 students take to the streets, Lancaster’s students were struggling with their own local issue: to gain representation through a sabbatical officer team.

As a result of the difficulties and political arguments that consumed the university’s time, the students’ union struggled to receive the support and resources to move forward with their services and provision.

As time passed, the debate on the role of a students’ union within a collegiate system was never far off people’s minds, and the students’ union’s bid for a central social space in the 1980s was unsuccessful. Instead, a local chain took control of a student venue and leased it to LUSU. The nightclub opened in 1982, but with high drinks prices, students became dissatisfied with the situation.

By the beginning of the 1990s, with six sabbatical officers now representing a 12,000-strong membership, a change in the mindset of university management saw a new lease of imagination and creativity, and with it, a more trusted relationship with the students' union. The union purchased the local nightclub with a loan from the university and the rest is history.

Global opportunities

NUS played a significant role during this crucial time for LUSU, particularly through NUS Services, which allowed the SU access to a purchase consortium. The ability to purchase centrally allowed the students' union to offer better prices, improve customer satisfaction, and a higher margin that put profits back into other union services and provisions.

With the university's support, LUSU have gone on to develop other services both commercial and non-commercial, such as our volunteering unit that offers placements within the local area and now looks to provide global opportunities for our students.

It's taken nearly 50 years for LUSU to establish itself as a politically-led, financially strong and active students' union, but the organisation appears to be stronger for overcoming initial difficulties.

As NUS celebrate 90 years, we look forward to seeing the path that the student movement takes over the coming decades, and the role LUSU can play in it.